Thursday, October 13, 2005
Surviving Ramadan at All Costs
We are now in the midst of the holy month of Ramadan, a 30 day period marked by prayer and fasting, and remembrance of God. It is this month that is celebrated as being the time when the Qu'ran was given to the prophet Mohamed (pbuh).
However, I am not knowledgable enough about certain issues in my religion (as I am a recent convert) to give you much more than that, so I will give you my superficial experiences.
I miss my coffee in the morning!
When we were in Egypt last year, the time to break the fast was two hours earlier than it is in the United States (Texas, to be exact) this year. I thought it was difficult last year, but this year, I'm not sure how much more I can take! Of course I sound sacrilegious, but, I'm just being honest, and from my point of view, I see things differently than those who were born and raised Muslims. I am trying to find the humor in it, in order to survive during the daylight hours without anything touching my lips! (No food, no water, no s**, but most importantly, no coffee! until after sundown.)
I have a tendency, also, when I haven't eaten all day (just as everyone else does) to find little things about my husband to nit-pick. Or, if I'm not nit-picking poor Karim, I'm discussing how much better I could run things at my work, at Karim's work, at the supermarket or in the Oval Office. By seven o' clock (ish) when the adhan for Maghrib (sunset prayer/breaking of fast) sounds out on the computer, I feel much like the rubberband that has been twisted around and around on the propeller of a toy airplane until I am absolutely certain I won't make that last looooooooong five minutes (tick...tock...tick...tock...tick...tock). By this time, the Iftar (you call it dinner, we call it breakfast) is prepared and waiting on the table. (Picture a hungry puppy staring at a full bowl of steak waiting for the command to eat from it's master.) Our tempers are short, so we keep silent, trying to keep our eyes OFF the food. The adhan calls..."Allahuakbar...Allahuakbar..." Patience, patience. We try to focus on the beauty of the call to prayer, and honestly should be preparing to pray first, but aren't. When the adhan is finished, we don't just dig in to the food, as that would be unhealthy. We break our fast with a glass of juice first, and THEN dig in. And dig, and dig...
I won't discuss the prayers, as that is a given in Islam. We have to pray, that's that, and if we choose to pray with full tummies getting in the way, well, may God forgive us. So we do our prayers, much like Humpty-dumpty would do them, and thank God for all the bounteous things he has bestowed on us. We thank him that we are able to celebrate Ramadan. We thank him that we are full. When we finish our prayers, we read our Qu'ran, which is a blessing for us if we read it in its entirety during Ramadan.
Karim calls me every morning from work at 4:30 so that I might wake up and eat Sohor. This is the last meal before the fasting of the day begins at sunrise. I don't eat much as I always go right back to bed afterward, lazy woman that I am.
With all of this talk about food, I really do enjoy the REASONS behind Ramadan, and hope that the fasting time will remind me that there are those in the world who do this every day, not because of any religious celebration, not because of choice, but simply because there is no food for them. May Allah bless them. I wish to remember that the Holy Qu'ran was given at this time. For Muslims, this book is the Word of God; our guidance in life. I want always to realize how small I am in comparison to God, not unimportant, but still only a speck on the universe, and yet, HE still loves ME! I want to share this peace with others, so that they, too may understand.
For those celebrating Ramadan--and for those who aren't--koule sanna w'entoum tayebeen. (May all the year go well with you.) Ramadan Mubarak!
However, I am not knowledgable enough about certain issues in my religion (as I am a recent convert) to give you much more than that, so I will give you my superficial experiences.
I miss my coffee in the morning!
When we were in Egypt last year, the time to break the fast was two hours earlier than it is in the United States (Texas, to be exact) this year. I thought it was difficult last year, but this year, I'm not sure how much more I can take! Of course I sound sacrilegious, but, I'm just being honest, and from my point of view, I see things differently than those who were born and raised Muslims. I am trying to find the humor in it, in order to survive during the daylight hours without anything touching my lips! (No food, no water, no s**, but most importantly, no coffee! until after sundown.)
I have a tendency, also, when I haven't eaten all day (just as everyone else does) to find little things about my husband to nit-pick. Or, if I'm not nit-picking poor Karim, I'm discussing how much better I could run things at my work, at Karim's work, at the supermarket or in the Oval Office. By seven o' clock (ish) when the adhan for Maghrib (sunset prayer/breaking of fast) sounds out on the computer, I feel much like the rubberband that has been twisted around and around on the propeller of a toy airplane until I am absolutely certain I won't make that last looooooooong five minutes (tick...tock...tick...tock...tick...tock). By this time, the Iftar (you call it dinner, we call it breakfast) is prepared and waiting on the table. (Picture a hungry puppy staring at a full bowl of steak waiting for the command to eat from it's master.) Our tempers are short, so we keep silent, trying to keep our eyes OFF the food. The adhan calls..."Allahuakbar...Allahuakbar..." Patience, patience. We try to focus on the beauty of the call to prayer, and honestly should be preparing to pray first, but aren't. When the adhan is finished, we don't just dig in to the food, as that would be unhealthy. We break our fast with a glass of juice first, and THEN dig in. And dig, and dig...
I won't discuss the prayers, as that is a given in Islam. We have to pray, that's that, and if we choose to pray with full tummies getting in the way, well, may God forgive us. So we do our prayers, much like Humpty-dumpty would do them, and thank God for all the bounteous things he has bestowed on us. We thank him that we are able to celebrate Ramadan. We thank him that we are full. When we finish our prayers, we read our Qu'ran, which is a blessing for us if we read it in its entirety during Ramadan.
Karim calls me every morning from work at 4:30 so that I might wake up and eat Sohor. This is the last meal before the fasting of the day begins at sunrise. I don't eat much as I always go right back to bed afterward, lazy woman that I am.
With all of this talk about food, I really do enjoy the REASONS behind Ramadan, and hope that the fasting time will remind me that there are those in the world who do this every day, not because of any religious celebration, not because of choice, but simply because there is no food for them. May Allah bless them. I wish to remember that the Holy Qu'ran was given at this time. For Muslims, this book is the Word of God; our guidance in life. I want always to realize how small I am in comparison to God, not unimportant, but still only a speck on the universe, and yet, HE still loves ME! I want to share this peace with others, so that they, too may understand.
For those celebrating Ramadan--and for those who aren't--koule sanna w'entoum tayebeen. (May all the year go well with you.) Ramadan Mubarak!
